Apple Business Manager- the new name for Apple DEP

Being fully Apple Authorised, HardSoft are able to centrally register the Macs and iPads we lease to customers with Apple, which helps them with the management of their assets. Apple have recently relaunched their Device Enrolment Programme (DEP) as the new Apple Business Manager. This is, in essence, the enterprise version of Apple School Manager, which gives companies a web-based portal for IT managers to deploy and manage Apple devices across the workplace. Apple Business Manager lets you buy content and configure automatic device enrollment in your Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution.

Apple Business Manager

Apple says that this service offers businesses sleek device enrolment, controls for assigning privileges and settings, as well as the ability to purchase apps and books, all from one central location. Signing up for Apple Business Manager as part of your lease means that you can deploy Macs, iPads and other iOS devices which you have leased across a business or school. You can then supervise from a distance any iOS devices owned by your business but used by your staff, whether they’re office based or work remotely.

This level of management allows you to add restrictions, such as turning off integral games and apps, as well as blocking certain apps from being downloaded to the device. With Business Manager large-scale deployments of iPad and Mac are seamless. Your devices are configured through a Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution, we use the Airwatch MDM software solution – which costs £1.00 per week extra on a three-year lease, users are then guided through the activation process.

Through the Device Enrollment Program, businesses can choose to supervise corporate-owned iOS devices over the air and the supervision of this provides a higher level of device management customising configurations and features specific to your school or business.

What can I do with Apple Business Manager?

Configuring Business Manager allows you a number of options:

Force the device to enroll with an MDM such as AirWatch

Select which MDM group devices should be a part of initially

Disable users ability to un-enroll from the MDM manually

Place device in supervised mode

Restrict device from pairing with macOS computers

Disable sending diagnostics information to Apple

Display personalised contact information for support

In addition, you can add a Mobile Device Management (MDM) profile for each device. The MDM allows the centralised control and deployment of software. Using an MDM gives you the ability to configure access to corporate services, account setting, and even which apps can be used. This removes the need to deploy your devices manually and means that your staff can get working as soon as the device is turned on. There is no need to have someone from your IT team physically set up each device individually. This is only offered by Apple Authorised Sellers or direct from the Apple Store. HardSoft has provided rollouts to such organisations as the Marie Curie cancer charity, as well as Dee Valley Water.

You can lease the iPad Pro 10.5-inch with Mobile Device Managment bundle from HardSoft, on a three-year lease from £7.50 per week + VAT. The Benefits of Apple Business Manager and an MDM solution are massive but if you want to know more take a look at the FAQs below, or give our sales team a call on 020 7111 1643 and they will be happy to talk you through why Business Manager and MDM make sense for your business or school.

FAQ’s on the Apple Business Manager

Does HardSoft manage the whole process? Not entirely. HardSoft role in the device enrolment process consists of order management functions, such as providing device serial numbers or IMEI numbers, creating a customer’s Customer ID, providing our Reseller ID, and a few other order details. Further actions in the programme — such as claiming and assigning devices in the website and or to MDM servers — are the responsibility of the customer.

What resellers, distributors or carriers are eligible to support Device enrolment for their customers? Any Apple Authorised Reseller such as HardSoft, or Telecoms carrier, such as O2, EE is eligible to participate in the programme.

Can adding devices into the Business Manager resolve issues with the new law General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)? No, though it is the first stage in adding a Mobile Device Management Solution such as Airwatch that would conform. The new GDPR law states you must implement “appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk, including…encryption of personal data” (Article 32, Security of processing). In the event of a data breach, the organisation is not required to inform individuals of the breach if measures that “render the personal data unintelligible” were in place, including encryption (Article 34, Communication of a personal data breach to the data subject). GDPR is a concern to all Companies with the potential for heavy fines. Mobile devices such as iPads ‘roaming;’ the country with Data on are a hole in an IT security set up that needs addressing.

What customers are eligible to sign up for the Business Manager? Business Manager is available to qualifying businesses. Generally, a client with 10 or more mobile devices feels the benefit. The service of Apple School Manager is available to state, independent, primary and secondary schools, colleges and eligible educational organisations…

What does the customer need to provide to Apple to enrol devices? We require the customer’s Customer ID (Apple will provide this to the customer after on line registration), the HardSoft ID, the device IDs of the devices sold (serial numbers or IMEI numbers), and a few details about the order, such as delivery date.

Does HardSoft specify in the terms of sale that the device must be removed from Business Manager when the customer no longer owns, it? No but the Apple Business Manager terms agreed to by the customer at sign up require a customer to remove devices that they no longer own. Be aware that any devices lost, stolen will need removing.

Is there a charge to participate in Apple Business Manager? Apple does not charge customers to participate in the service or Apple School Manager scheme. An MDM solution such as Airwatch would be at extra cost.

Can HardSoft help by enrolling devices into Business Manager? Unfortunately no. End users must enrol in the service or Apple School Manager and accept the terms and conditions themselves. Customers who request HardSoft to perform additional integration or management services (such as an MDM) can latterly create an admin account within their portal or Apple School Manager portal to add and manage these services on the customers behalf.

Could customers create their own API? Organisations should be able to develop functional integration with Apple’s device enrolment APIs using two or three developers in about 10 weeks. Alternatively, an off the shelf solution should be considered. HardSoft offer VMWare Airwatch.

Being fully Apple Authorised, HardSoft are able to centrally register the Macs and iPads we lease to customers with Apple, which helps them with the management of their assets. Apple have recently relaunched their Device Enrolment Programme (DEP) as the new Apple Business Manager. This is, in essence, the enterprise version of Apple School Manager, which gives companies a web-based portal for IT managers to deploy and manage Apple devices across the workplace. Apple Business Manager lets you buy content and configure automatic device enrollment in your Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution.

Apple Business Manager

Apple says that this service offers businesses sleek device enrolment, controls for assigning privileges and settings, as well as the ability to purchase apps and books, all from one central location. Signing up for Apple Business Manager as part of your lease means that you can deploy Macs, iPads and other iOS devices which you have leased across a business or school. You can then supervise from a distance any iOS devices owned by your business but used by your staff, whether they’re office based or work remotely.

This level of management allows you to add restrictions, such as turning off integral games and apps, as well as blocking certain apps from being downloaded to the device. With Business Manager large-scale deployments of iPad and Mac are seamless. Your devices are configured through a Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution, we use the Airwatch MDM software solution – which costs £1.00 per week extra on a three-year lease, users are then guided through the activation process.

Through the Device Enrollment Program, businesses can choose to supervise corporate-owned iOS devices over the air and the supervision of this provides a higher level of device management customising configurations and features specific to your school or business.

What can I do with Apple Business Manager?

Configuring Business Manager allows you a number of options:

Force the device to enroll with an MDM such as AirWatch

Select which MDM group devices should be a part of initially

Disable users ability to un-enroll from the MDM manually

Place device in supervised mode

Restrict device from pairing with macOS computers

Disable sending diagnostics information to Apple

Display personalised contact information for support

In addition, you can add a Mobile Device Management (MDM) profile for each device. The MDM allows the centralised control and deployment of software. Using an MDM gives you the ability to configure access to corporate services, account setting, and even which apps can be used. This removes the need to deploy your devices manually and means that your staff can get working as soon as the device is turned on. There is no need to have someone from your IT team physically set up each device individually. This is only offered by Apple Authorised Sellers or direct from the Apple Store. HardSoft has provided rollouts to such organisations as the Marie Curie cancer charity, as well as Dee Valley Water.

You can lease the iPad Pro 10.5-inch with Mobile Device Managment bundle from HardSoft, on a three-year lease from £7.50 per week + VAT. The Benefits of Apple Business Manager and an MDM solution are massive but if you want to know more take a look at the FAQs below, or give our sales team a call on 020 7111 1643 and they will be happy to talk you through why Business Manager and MDM make sense for your business or school.

FAQ’s on the Apple Business Manager

Does HardSoft manage the whole process? Not entirely. HardSoft role in the device enrolment process consists of order management functions, such as providing device serial numbers or IMEI numbers, creating a customer’s Customer ID, providing our Reseller ID, and a few other order details. Further actions in the programme — such as claiming and assigning devices in the website and or to MDM servers — are the responsibility of the customer.

What resellers, distributors or carriers are eligible to support Device enrolment for their customers? Any Apple Authorised Reseller such as HardSoft, or Telecoms carrier, such as O2, EE is eligible to participate in the programme.

Can adding devices into the Business Manager resolve issues with the new law General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)? No, though it is the first stage in adding a Mobile Device Management Solution such as Airwatch that would conform. The new GDPR law states you must implement “appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk, including…encryption of personal data” (Article 32, Security of processing). In the event of a data breach, the organisation is not required to inform individuals of the breach if measures that “render the personal data unintelligible” were in place, including encryption (Article 34, Communication of a personal data breach to the data subject). GDPR is a concern to all Companies with the potential for heavy fines. Mobile devices such as iPads ‘roaming;’ the country with Data on are a hole in an IT security set up that needs addressing.

What customers are eligible to sign up for the Business Manager? Business Manager is available to qualifying businesses. Generally, a client with 10 or more mobile devices feels the benefit. The service of Apple School Manager is available to state, independent, primary and secondary schools, colleges and eligible educational organisations…

What does the customer need to provide to Apple to enrol devices? We require the customer’s Customer ID (Apple will provide this to the customer after on line registration), the HardSoft ID, the device IDs of the devices sold (serial numbers or IMEI numbers), and a few details about the order, such as delivery date.

Does HardSoft specify in the terms of sale that the device must be removed from Business Manager when the customer no longer owns, it? No but the Apple Business Manager terms agreed to by the customer at sign up require a customer to remove devices that they no longer own. Be aware that any devices lost, stolen will need removing.

Is there a charge to participate in Apple Business Manager? Apple does not charge customers to participate in the service or Apple School Manager scheme. An MDM solution such as Airwatch would be at extra cost.

Can HardSoft help by enrolling devices into Business Manager? Unfortunately no. End users must enrol in the service or Apple School Manager and accept the terms and conditions themselves. Customers who request HardSoft to perform additional integration or management services (such as an MDM) can latterly create an admin account within their portal or Apple School Manager portal to add and manage these services on the customers behalf.

Could customers create their own API? Organisations should be able to develop functional integration with Apple’s device enrolment APIs using two or three developers in about 10 weeks. Alternatively, an off the shelf solution should be considered. HardSoft offer VMWare Airwatch.

What makes leasing from HardSoft so different from all the other leasing companies out there? We believe that it’s the holistic approach we take to our business, we care about our customers and the experience they have with us so we do our best to make sure that experience is a beneficial and helpful as possible. We also listen to our customers and try to develop new offerings that fit with what they’re looking for.

For example, we have recently launched our new HardSoft Creative Club. The Creative Club gives our customers access to a pool of kit for short-term hire. That’s the kit they need when they need it for short-term projects, for just £6 per week plus VAT. The kit in the pool has a daily points value and customers receive 350 points annually to use to hire the extra kit they need and at the time when they need it. All delivered and collected as part of their membership. It’s short-term computer hire that’s cheap and flexible, exactly what many of our customers have been asking for.

HardSoft Loyalty Program Gift Grid

We have also launched a Loyalty Rewards Scheme. To say thank you to our returning customers for their continued business with HardSoft, and to show how much we value it we now have a Loyalty Reward Program and now offer these customers a free gift with new leases – see the gift grid.

Small Things = A Big Difference

HardSoft also offers lots of those small things that all add up to make a big HardSoft difference, such as:

35 years of trading experienceWe have been trading since 1984 and our team know the nuts and bolts of leasing and can help with your financing choice.

4,000 clients with £30M of leasesWe have over 4,000 customers who hold £30M of leases. We have the knowledge and experience that comes from supporting these customers which will help us to help you.

FCA authorisedBeing FCA authorised means you can be confident that all our leases fall within FCA lending criteria and have transparent terms.

Apple authorisedWe work directly with Apple and all of our Apple products are genuine and brand new.

Finance for new Start-UpsWe recently approved leasing for a Start-Up without an indemnity every day for a 90 day period – and counting!

Feefo Gold Trusted Service AwardCreated by Feefo, the Gold Trusted Service Award is awarded to businesses that meet the high standard. This accreditation is based purely on reviews of interactions with verified customers. As all reviews are verified as genuine, the accreditation is a true reflection of a business’ commitment to outstanding service.

More than 10K Macs
10,000 Macs have been supplied to our customers, getting them started or keeping them going, without the need to outlay large amounts from their cash flow.

5 star Google reviewsTake a look at our Google reviews and find out what our customers have to say about our business, service and support. We consistently received 5 star reviews from our customers and

Pure-Rental optionsIf you don’t want the option to cancel your lease or change your equipment after 2-years, you can take out a Pure-Rental lease.

Leases available over 2,3, or 4 yearsWe offer a range of lease terms to suit your needs, making it easier and more flexible for you.

Competitive insurance
Insuring computer equipment can be expensive and some insurers won’t even quote on high ticket items. HardSoft offer insurance that is cheaper than you might think.

Cancel after 2 years
If you have a Flexi-Lease you have the option to cancel your lease after two years, or change your equipment to the latest spec and take out a new lease.

Apple trained techniciansOur technicians are all highly trained and receive the latest, most up to date training from Apple meaning they solve any issues you may have quickly and get you back up and running as soon as possible.

Over the last 18 months, many major computer manufacturers such as Lenovo, HP and Fujitsu have started offering subscription services for new computers and technology but what exactly is in it for you, and what is this terminology they use all about? It’s something we’ve been talking about for a long time and is very much part of the HardSoft ethos and way of offering a subscription model for deployment and use of PC and Macs.

Here we explain these terms and acronyms which you may come across:

Technology as a service – TaaS

Technology as a service offers small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) the facility to combine their computer hardware purchases with IT services for a monthly fee. They are then able to utilise the service rather than employee their own IT staff, to cover things such as warranty services, and the option to replace equipment regularly without making large upfront payments, allowing them to keep their cash flow in place for the day-to-day running of the business.

IT as a service – ITaaS

IT as a Service a method of technology delivery that views information technology as an asset. It provides businesses with hardware, software and support on an agreed monthly fee.

Device as a Service – DaaS

Device as a service is where small businesses and larger companies alike outsource the acquisition and management of IT devices to save money and enable them to renew the equipment regularly. HP use this as their brand. HP tied up with Apple at the end of 2017 and offer the imaginatively “Device as a Service for Apple’ that allow iPhones, iPads and Macs bundled up with support and a DEP solution, plus Accidental Damage cover. Apple does not have its own scheme and the HP DaaS for Apple is only available in the USA

XaaS – anything as a service

Anything (or everything) as a service has often been used to envelop SaaS (Software as a service), IaaS (Infrastructure as a service), and PaaS (Platform as a service). Originally SaaS, this cloud-based on-demand services category has expanded to include anything that isn’t fixed to the floor. It’s the epitome of cloud computing, a veritable buffet of offerings which are utility based and can be used on a monthly basis.

Sound Familiar?

Does any of this sound familiar to you? Yes, it’s basically what we’ve been doing – and preaching about – for the past 30 years! It’s all about getting someone else to take care of the technology you need to use for your business, paying a regular set amount to ensure that everything is looked after so that you don’t have to worry about it. In a nutshell, HardSoft offers all of the services mentioned above within our leasing contracts. We cover warranties, technical support, replacement products, and renewals when you need them. It’s why we’re a ‘one stop shop’ for all your technology needs.

Voice technology is everywhere! Pretty soon it will be an unavoidable phenomenon, not just an app you never use.

Voice technology is continuing to change the way we communicate in all aspects of our everyday lives.

And, in recent years, an increasing number of high profile brands, including Microsoft and Apple, have recognised the many benefits that come hand in hand with voice technology. In fact, more people than ever before are embracing voice assistant devices at home and at work, increasing the worldwide demand for technology that can recognise human speech.

Firstly, what is voice technology?

From the Apple HomePod and Google Home through to the Amazon Echo, brands have been quick to respond to consumer demand for voice assistants, which have been designed to integrate seamlessly into our everyday lives, ultimately changing consumer behaviour.

If you own the latest smartphone or tablet, it’s very likely that voice recognition technology will already be on your radar, and it’s likely you will have already used it, in some shape or form. Whether you’re asking Cortana where the buy the best Flat White, ordering a birthday present from Alexa or asking Siri for the latest Twitter trends voice technology is here, and growing fast.

Voice technology is a piece of computer software developed to decode the human voice. whether it’s Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri or Microsoft’s Cortana they all work on the same principle; listen, quantify and interpret. Once they have heard what you have said, your voice is translated into text which is in turn input as a command on your device. With this in mind, an increasing number of brands are now using it to allow consumers to actually operate their devices, respond to commands, and in some cases, write and translate messages. Think of voice technology as a vocal keyboard and mouse, but instead of typing in your questions/commands you’re saying them!

1. Where in the future are we going to find voice technology?

2017 saw an explosion of growth in voice recognition technology, and many conversational devices are now commonplace in homes and offices around the world, with a diverse range of sectors embracing this ground-breaking revolution. If you, like me, remember the early days of voice commands they were clunky, incoherent and often wouldn’t get what you said right. But user-experience got better and following product releases like; The Amazon Echo and Apple’s IOS 10/11 featuring Siri we finally got to a point where they became worth using!

Voice technology has already proved to be extremely popular in a vast range of products, including smartphones, tablets and voice assistants. The main benefit of voice technology is that it’s entirely handsfree, so naturally, voice technology has been incorporated into products such as cars, furniture and even in the workplace, this allows full device functionality even when your hands are busy.

However, many industry experts have stated that in order for voice technology to remain at the forefront of advances in tech, it’s vital that it is able to complement and enhance other emerging technologies. With this in mind, it will be the job of big names such as Apple, Amazon and Microsoft to ensure that they continue to create compelling, accurate and enjoyable user experiences with voice recognition technology that is in line and able to integrate with future innovations.

2. Creating bespoke experiences

Although many voice assistants already offer individualised experiences, it is predicted that they will become even better at differentiating between voices, with the ability to recognise and detect unique user voices. For example, customised voice detection suddenly allows users to obtain information that is unique to them! Their calendar, interests and individual needs/wants.

We can see the consumer need for a more automated, easier user experience, recently released specialised, secure login software like Windows Hello and Apple ID have proven severely popular. Imagine if logging into your device could be done securely, handsfree and by just using your voice.

3. Voice notifications

Voice notifications are coming! And will be used to advise users about new content and features, in order to both encourage you to continue using your device and also following improvements to voice technology create a dialogue between device and user. Being able to dictate commands through conversation with your device rather than having to input anything manually.

This is especially convenient during times where you can’t input commands traditionally via a keyboard like when you’re driving, for example:

‘Hi Oliver it’s Cortana, it’s 12:45 pm and you have an appointment with Daniel scheduled for 1 pm at the office, with current traffic your ETA is 1:15 pm, say yes if you would you like me to inform him of your new arrival time?’

Voice technology has helpful and fantastic real-world applications, the mobility in how you can deploy voice technology is what makes it relevant, the only barrier to it, ultimately, is accuracy.

4. Assess your mood

As voice technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, there are now a number of new devices set to become attuned to not just your voice, but also your emotions! Known as emotion recognition, this ground-breaking innovation assesses your daily mood by using the tone of your voice. At a very basic level being able to accurately gauge your emotions means your interaction with the voice technology you use has another variable. If you’re having a bad day then you could set the software not to bother you etc…

The digital landscape is advancing all the time, with new technology continuously pushing boundaries and taking us to new places on a daily basis.

However, one thing’s for sure, the future certainly looks bright for voice recognition technology! Watch this space!

To find out more about the latest home technology available to lease with HardSoft, get in touch by clicking the link or call on 0207 1111 643 – our skilled and experienced team is always happy to help and can offer great advice on whats available!